ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did not reveal her stance on cannabis during last year’s election campaign. (File photo)
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s decision not to reveal her position on the cannabis debate during election campaigning could have been a “decisive factor” in last year’s referendum, academics believe.
Ardern and her Labour Party did not take a public stance on the legalisation of cannabis during 2020’s election campaign, despite facing repeated questions over it.
Efforts to legalise cannabis were ultimately defeated, with 48.4 per cent of voters in favour and 50.7 per cent against.
“Referendum voting is often more volatile and unpredictable than voting in elections based on party politics,” said researchers Marta Rychert and Chris Wilkins, both of Massey University’s College of Health.
READ MORE:
* Tears and anger as special votes fail to flip narrow cannabis referendum loss
* Did misinformation sway cannabis referendum votes?
* Referendum results: ‘devastation’ for cannabis legalisation supporters
* Election 2020: What sway might special votes have on the cannabis and euthanasia referendums?
“Adding to this volatility, the governing Labour Party decided the cannabis referendum would be a ‘conscience’ rather than a ‘party’ vote,” they wrote in a research paper.
“The self-imposed neutrality of the centre-left Labour Party and its popular leader may have been a decisive factor in the narrow defeat.”
Abigail…
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ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did not reveal her stance on cannabis during last year’s election campaign. (File photo)
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s decision not to reveal her position on the cannabis debate during election campaigning could have been a “decisive factor” in last year’s referendum, academics believe.
Ardern and her Labour Party did not take a public stance on the legalisation of cannabis during 2020’s election campaign, despite facing repeated questions over it.
Efforts to legalise cannabis were ultimately defeated, with 48.4 per cent of voters in favour and 50.7 per cent against.
“Referendum voting is often more volatile and unpredictable than voting in elections based on party politics,” said researchers Marta Rychert and Chris Wilkins, both of Massey University’s College of Health.
READ MORE:
* Tears and anger as special votes fail to flip narrow cannabis referendum loss
* Did misinformation sway cannabis referendum votes?
* Referendum results: ‘devastation’ for cannabis legalisation supporters
* Election 2020: What sway might special votes have on the cannabis and euthanasia referendums?
“Adding to this volatility, the governing Labour Party decided the cannabis referendum would be a ‘conscience’ rather than a ‘party’ vote,” they wrote in a research paper.
“The self-imposed neutrality of the centre-left Labour Party and its popular leader may have been a decisive factor in the narrow defeat.”
Abigail…
